1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to handling cylindrical bales and more particularly to a hay bale carrier and dispenser or feeder capable of transporting and unrolling the bales.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The handling of large, heavy hay bales has presented a serious problem for farmers, cattlemen and others growing and feeding hay in large quantities, and this particular problem has been intensified by the recent introduction of farming machinery which commonly produces a large, very heavy cylindrical hay bale. The prior art devices have not fully solved the problem of handling such heavy bales in a simple and economical manner, nor the problem of unrolling all or part of the bales once delivered to a feeding location.
Lift trucks for moving bulky, heavy loads are known in the art as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 1,545,417 to Ulinski, U.S. Pat. No. 2,684,164 to Violette, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,698,698 to Smith Et al. A mechanism for lifting carpet rolls is known as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,658 to Harris, and a load handling and engaging device for lift trucks for handling bulk materials is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,350 to Garrett.
The handling of large, round hay bales, which frequently weigh as much as 1 to 11/2 tons, and measure from about 5 to 8 feet in length and diameter, has continued to present serious problems. The efficient movement of such bales for storage and feeding purposes has previously required relatively expensive and considerably more complex hydraulic handling equipment.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,015,739 to Cox and 4,120,405 to Jones both relate to mechanisms which involve hydraulically-powered means which are attached to tractors for spear-type bale pick-up devices. In either case, such mechanisms may be attached to pick-up trucks, but require power sources.
Other types of apparatus have involved combined bale lifting, hauling and unrolling mechanisms such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,708 to Goodvin. In this disclosure, the bale lifter and carrier attachment is raised by an electric winch, but the flexible cable frequently becomes snarled and unmanageable. The hay bale handling mechanism disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,739 to Cox requires a hydraulic cylinder to effect upward and downward motion of a single bale-supporting elongated finger.
All of the prior art winch devices have a common problem of lowering the empty finger(s) or spike(s) from their vertical position to a horizontal position for bale penetration. Prior to pick-up of the bale, with the empty finger(s) projecting upwardly and the finger support member resting in the bed of the vehicle, most of the weight of the finger support member resides over the bed. When the winch is unwound, there are no forces to push the finger(s) downwardly around the pivot point for projecting into horizontal loading position. Normally, the operator is required to unwind the winch cable, then walk around and physically pull the finger(s) downwardly into horizontal loading position, frequently experiencing cable snarling. Problems of unwinding sufficient cable are obvious. If insufficient cable is unwound, the operator must repeat the unwind and walk around again to pull the finger(s) downwardly. Upon loading and transport of the bale to the desired feeding location, the bale is deposited on the ground for feeding. Previously, it has been difficult to unroll the bale without employing special unrolling equipment separately mounted from the transporting mechanism. The present invention eliminates such problems in a combined bale handling and unrolling mechanism.